Russia calls emergency session of UN Security Council over Syria strikes: Kremlin

Russia on Saturday said it was calling an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, where it is a permanent member, over Western strikes on Syria.

"Russia is calling an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the aggressive actions of the US and its allies," the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Kremlin also condemned Western air strikes on Syria where its armed forces are backing President Bashar al-Assad.

"Russia severely condemns the attack on Syria where Russian military are helping the lawful government in the fight with terrorism," the Kremlin said in a statement, its first reaction to the strikes.

Russia said that the Western powers "cynically" carried out military action hours before a team from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was set to begin an investigation into the suspected chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta that sparked the intervention by the US and its allies.

The current escalation of the situation in Syria "has a destructive effect on the whole system of international relations," the Kremlin said.